HORROR GOD

Horror God biography
Hailing from Moscow, Horror God are a Russian blackened death metal band formed in 2006. Currently a quintet, Horror God was conceived as the vision of guitarist Sergey Borisov, bassist Andrey Rybkin and vocalist Maxim Stepanov, who remain the core trio to this day. Over the course of three albums and a split, Horror God have steadily evolved and matured a style of progressive death metal taking cues from the dissonant atmospherics of Gorguts, Ulcerate, Deathspell Omega, Immolation and Portal.

The band made their introduction with a three-track demo in 2007, following it two years later with their debut full-length Cold Shine, released through More Hate Productions and featuring Anatoly Boychenko on drums. A lineup shift resulted in Boychenko's departure and Sergey Kozlov's induction, with guitarist Pavel Smirnov becoming a permanent member in 2011. The much-improved sophomore album, Planet of Ruins, arrived via Eclectic Productions in 2012. Horror God later signed to Lavadome Productions, which issued a 2017 split with avant-garde metal ensemble Techne. The band began to receive more international exposure with their 2019 album Cursed Seeds, on which Rybkin was temporarily absent and Kozlov was replaced by fifth and newest member Lev Kurgansky. The LP also featured guitarist Kevin Hufnagel of Gorguts and Dysrhythmia on the song "They Were Behind the Barbed Wire".

Horror God operate in the same orbit as Replicant, Ad Nauseam, Sunless, Ulsect and Corpse Garden.


- Gordy, July 2023